Live on the globe now: 5,256 tracked
This layer plots the physical internet on the globe: the data centers (interconnection facilities) and internet exchange points (IXPs) where networks meet to swap traffic. The points come from PeeringDB, the freely available, community-maintained database that network operators use as the first stop when making peering and interconnection decisions. PeeringDB tracks roughly 5,800 facilities and around 1,300 exchanges worldwide, alongside the tens of thousands of networks that connect through them. Unlike a generic "data center" listing, these are the carrier-neutral colocation sites and exchange fabrics that actually carry interconnection, so the map leans toward the places that matter for routing rather than every server room on Earth. Spin to a region and you can see why traffic clusters the way it does: dense knots over Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, Ashburn, Singapore and São Paulo, thinning out across the global south. Click any point to inspect the underlying record. Because PeeringDB is user-maintained, operators update their own facility and exchange entries, and overwatch.earth refreshes from that source, so the picture tracks new builds and exchange launches as the community records them. This is one of about 29 live layers you can solo on the same interactive Earth.
Data source: PeeringDB
From PeeringDB (peeringdb.com), a non-profit, community-driven database of networks, internet exchange points and interconnection facilities. It is maintained by the operators themselves and widely used across the peering community.
A facility (data center) is a physical building where networks colocate equipment. An internet exchange point (IXP) is a shared switching fabric, often hosted inside one or more of those facilities, where many networks peer and exchange traffic directly.
No. PeeringDB focuses on interconnection: carrier-neutral colocation sites and exchanges where networks actually peer. Private enterprise server rooms and many single-tenant facilities are not listed, so this is the interconnection map rather than a full census.
PeeringDB is user-maintained, so records change as operators add facilities, register new exchanges or update connections. This layer refreshes from that source, reflecting community updates rather than a fixed annual snapshot.